State of Georgia

Department of Natural Resources

Environmental Protection Division

Public Water System

1996 Compliance Report

This report provides a summary of maximum contaminant level (MCL), significant monitoring/reporting (M/R), and treatment technique (TT) violations during the calendar year 1996 for public water systems (PWSs) in the State of Georgia.

Introduction

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program under the authority of the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Under the SDWA and the 1986 Amendments, EPA sets national limits on contaminant levels in drinking water to ensure that the water is safe for human consumption. These limits are known as maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). For some regulations, EPA established treatment techniques in lieu of an MCL to control unacceptable levels of contaminants in drinking water. The Agency also regulates how often public water systems (PWSs) monitor their water for contaminants and report the monitoring result to the states or EPA. Generally, the larger the population served by a water system, the more frequent the monitoring and reporting (M/R) requirements. In addition, EPA requires PWSs to monitor for unregulated contaminants to provide data for future regulatory development. Finally, EPA requires PWSs to notify the public when they have violated these regulations. The 1996 Amendments to the SDWA require public notification to include a clear and understandable explanation of the nature of the violation, its potential adverse health effects, steps that the PWS is undertaking to correct the violation and the possibility of alternative water supplies during the violation.

The SDWA applies to the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Indian Lands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

The SDWA allows states and territories to seek EPA approval to administer their own PWSS programs. The authority to run a PWSS Program is called primacy. To receive primacy, States must meet certain requirements laid out in the SDWA and regulations, including the adoption of drinking water regulations that are at least as stringent as the Federal regulations and a demonstration that they can enforce the program requirements. Of the 57 States and Territories, all but Wyoming and the District of Columbia have Primacy. The EPA Regional Offices administer the PWSS Programs within these two jurisdictions.

The 1986 SDWA Amendments gave Indian Tribes the right to apply for and receive primacy. To receive primacy, a Tribe must meet the same requirements as a State. To date, no Tribes have been granted primacy. Currently, EPA administers PWSS Programs on all Indian lands.

Annual State PWS Report

Primacy States submit data to the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS/FED) on a quarterly basis. Data include PWS inventory statistics, the incidence of Maximum Contaminant Level, Major Monitoring, and Treatment Technique violation, and the enforcement actions taken against violators. The annual compliance report that states are required to submit to EPA will provide a total annual representation of the numbers of violations for each of the four categories listed in section 1414(c)(3) of the Safe Drinking Water Act reauthorization. These four categories are: MCLs, treatment techniques, variances and exemptions, and significant monitoring violations. EPA stores this data in an automated database called the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). This report is based on data retrieved from the federal version of the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS/FED) as it stood on October 1, 1997.

Public Water System

A Public water system (PWS) is defined as a system that provides water via piping or other constructed conveyances for human consumption to at least 15 service connections or serves an average of at least 25 people for at least 60 days each year. There are three types of PWSs. PWSs can be community (such as towns), nontransient noncommunity (such as schools or factories), or transient noncommunity systems (such as rest stops or parks). For this report when the acronym APWS@ is used, it means systems of all types unless specified in greater detail.

Maximum Contaminant Level

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the EPA sets national limits on contaminant levels in drinking water to ensure that the water is safe for human consumption. These limits are known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).

Treatment Techniques

For some regulations, the EPA establishes treatment techniques (TTs) in lieu of an MCL to control unacceptable levels of certain contaminants. For example, treatment techniques have been established for viruses, bacteria, and turbidity.

Variances and Exemptions

Although the State of Georgia currently does not grant them, the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 allows for variances and exemptions to specific requirements of the Act to be granted under certain circumstances. If, due to the characteristics of the raw water sources reasonably available, a PWS cannot meet the MCL, a primacy State can grant the PWS a variance from the applicable primary drinking water regulation on the condition that the system install the best available technology, treatment techniques, or other means which the Director finds are available (taking cost into account). The state must find that the variance will not result in an unreasonable risk to health, and shall prescribe, at the time the variance is granted, a schedule (including increments of progress) in accordance with which the PWS must come into compliance with the MCL. Small systems (serving 3,300 or fewer persons; or 10,000 or fewer persons with the Director=s approval) may be granted variances if they cannot afford (as determined by application of the Director=s affordability criteria) to comply with certain MCLs (non-microbial, promulgated after January 1, 1986) by means of treatment, alternative source of water, or restructuring or consolidation. Small systems must, within 3 years, install and operate EPA approved small system variance technology. The variance must ensure adequate protection of human health, and the variance shall be reviewed not less than every 5 years to determine wether the system remains eligible for the variance. A primacy State may by exemption relieve a PWS of its obligation to comply with an MCL, treatment technique, or both if the system=s noncompliance results from compelling factors (which may include economic factors, the system was in operation on the effective date of the MCL or treatment technique requirement) or if not in operation by that date, only if no reasonable alternative source of drinking water is available to such new systems, management or restructuring changes cannot reasonably be made that will result in compliance with the SDWA or improvement of water quality, and the exemption will not result in an unreasonable risk to public health. The State will require the PWS to comply with the MCL or treatment technique as expeditiously as practicable, but not later than 3 years after the otherwise applicable compliance date.

Monitoring

A PWS is required to monitor and verify that the levels of contaminants present in the water do not exceed the MCL. If a PWS fails to have its water tested as required, then a monitoring violation occurs. A monitoring violation also includes failure to report test results correctly to the primacy agent.

Significant Monitoring Violations

For this report, significant monitoring violations are defined as any major monitoring violation that has occurred during the specified report interval. A major monitoring violation (expect for the Surface Water Treatment Rule) occurs when no samples were taken or no results are reported during a compliance period. A major Surface Water Treatment Rule M/R violation occurs when fewer than 10% of the required samples are taken or no results are reported during a reporting interval. A minor violation occurs when some but not all of the required numbers of samples are taken. More detailed discussion on major monitoring violations is provided in the guidance document.